ATOMIC OPTION

Azerbaijan today is a state developing not only in the economic, but also political and scientific directions. A scientific approach should be applied to all spheres of life. In this connection, one of the most important missions entrusted to the country's academic community is the calculation of Azerbaijan's energy potential. The Institute of radiation problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, which has implemented a number of important projects in the country jointly with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has a role to play here. We have discussed this and many other issues with the director of the said institution, Professor Adil Qaribov.

- The IAEA is expected to release a plan of financial assistance to Azerbaijan before the end of this year. What is the amount in question and what projects will it be allocated for?           

- I have been a member of the IAEA since 2002. Azerbaijan cooperates with this organization in different directions, mainly covering such areas as medical science, institutionalization, etc. Other important directions of our cooperation within the IAEA convention framework include Azerbaijan's radiation and nuclear security and fight against nuclear terrorism.

It is quite reassuring today that financial assistance from the IAEA to Azerbaijan has been increasing by the year. This is mainly the fruition of economic and political stability in the country. Considering the fact that the IAEA qualifies two years as one, we can say that starting from last year Azerbaijan left its neighbors behind in terms of the volume of allocated financial assistance.

At present, the IAEA is implementing five projects in Azerbaijan, including two medical - receiving new types of accelerators for radiation treatment of cancer. This is effective equipment which ensures targeted radiation and does not affect other bodies and healthy cells. This is a very important project for Azerbaijan. Such equipment costs an estimated $1,300,000. Some of the funds have been allocated by Azerbaijan, while a portion by the IAEA. In this connection, I would like to point to the role of Academician Camil Aliyev, director of the Cancer Treatment Center. He did his best to establish a special institution in the country where people suffering from oncological diseases can receive qualified assistance with the use of cutting-edge technologies. Also, the IAEA has helped Azerbaijan acquire diagnosing equipment capable of detecting diseases in its early stages. There are also sophisticated systems of monitoring the radiation situation and detecting radiation pollution in the country. The Institute of radiation problems of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources are involved in these projects. The Ministry of Emergency Situations has joined the projects this year as well. Within this project framework, Azerbaijan has already received and will continue receiving $300,000 worth of equipment to enable the Ministry of Ecology and of the Emergency Situations to continuously monitor different areas of Azerbaijan. There are plans to expand the system of personnel training in this area.

Also, a project on reinforcing border checkpoints and customs crossings is being implemented in Azerbaijan jointly with the IAEA. This envisages the installation of monitoring equipment on the border. Such equipment has already been installed in Astara, Bilasuvar and at the Baku seaport, and four to five other stations are to be upgraded within this system. The equipment allows border and customs authorities to identify cargo even with a low level of radioactivity. For Azerbaijan, a transit country between Europe and Asia sharing a border with Iran, which is developing its nuclear technologies, this is very important. It is for this reason that the IAEA, the USA and NATO are interested in strengthening Azerbaijani borders from a technical standpoint. This is a security issue not only for Azerbaijan but also for the whole world.

Another project envisages the strengthening and modernization of a system of regulatory bodies because there has been no regulatory system in the country until the present day. It is currently developing in three organizations - the Ministry of Ecology, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and the Ministry of Industry and Energy. Measures are being taken to join and effectively organize the work of the regulatory system.

This year we started gathering material for projects within the framework of technical cooperation with the IAEA for 2009-2011. An application has been filed for the implementation of five projects over the next three years, and three of these projects will be carried out with the participation of our institution. The first is the establishment of a research nuclear reactor in Azerbaijan. This will be a remarkable achievement for us. Azerbaijan does not have a single strategic nuclear facility, while other countries do. In Istanbul, for example, such facilities operate at the level of university laboratories. The government has approved the project. The second project we will take part in is the implementation of a system of radioactive sterilization of medical and food products in Azerbaijan. The point is that there are no mobile systems of sterilization in Azerbaijan. There is a chemical one, but it is not compatible with many food products. This is particularly important given the recent outbreak of bird flu. We are importing dry foods from eastern countries, but radioactive sterilization is not being carried out. These imports lead to the spread of bacteria and microbes in Azerbaijan. As for medical equipment, it is sterilized by old-fashioned methods. There is a preliminary agreement with the IAEA to that effect. The third project has to do with further upgrade of the monitoring system. The fourth project will aim to modernize medical equipment in Azerbaijan. At present, a high-energy accelerator is being assembled, while by 2009 we will have assembled a lower energy accelerator, which is expected to help prevent different diseases. I would like to mention that, if necessary, we are giving up our projects in favor of medical ones because the system of cancer-treatment used to be quite basic. Things are changing now.

All these projects are valued at a total of $2-3 million, because the government is also involving with financing. At the same time, the IAEA is also assisting us in training personnel. Our institution is the only organization to be engaged in radiation research in Azerbaijan, which means that there are not too many specialists out there. However, such specialists would be in demand in customs, border and regulatory bodies. Therefore, we have set up special courses jointly with the IAEA, where personnel are being re-trained. Six two-week courses are conducted for about 20-25 representatives of our institute every year with the participation of the IAEA and the USA. Special books are being published. I think that in about five to six years specialized training centers will operate in Azerbaijan. 

- Does the Azerbaijan government plan to set up a nuclear power plant in Azerbaijan with the participation of the IAEA?

- This is a very important question. I can carry out in-depth scientific analysis to prove that this is the best option available now. Even if Azerbaijan 2 billion tons of oil, a nuclear power plant will still be necessary. Every year starting from 2010 our country will be producing around 50-54 million tons of oil. I think it won't be long, maybe in 10-15 years, before energy specialists find it unprofitable to use oil to produce electric energy - it will become extremely expensive. If the population were to pay the actual price of electricity today, I doubt it would. Statistics shows that from 2010 onwards oil production in Azerbaijan will start declining. The year 2011 will be the peak. This means that the energy crisis in store for the world in 20-25 years will take a toll on Azerbaijan too.

A meeting has been held recently on the progress of the State Program on using alternative energy. The use of wind energy took center-stage. However, it is too small for the enormous energy sector. Wind and solar energy cannot play a major part in the energy sector. Just imagine that the biggest wind power station can generate only 1 MW of electric energy. This means that to address Azerbaijan's needs for electric energy of 5,000-6,000 MW a total of 6,000 40-meter special facilities are required. And these need to be installed throughout Azerbaijan and operate all the time. However, they don't operate continuously anywhere else in the world because their movement depends on the speed of the wind. Such facilities are indeed used in the world, but they perform the energy-saving function when other sources of energy are available. This means that we can save on oil and nuclear energy as much as we produce by using wind and solar energy. 

As far as hydro energy is concerned, it is rather limited in Azerbaijan. Such powerful stations as Samkir and Mingacevir cannot generate electric energy continuously either. Specialist calculations show that the reserves of these types of energy do not exceed 16-20 per cent. The only way out is the establishment of a nuclear power station. And this is not just my whim, but an objective requirement of history. This is something on which the system of energy security can be built. Many countries today are ready to expand their nuclear industry. At present, 26 per cent of Germany's electric energy is generated on the basis of nuclear facilities, while in France this figure is 70 per cent. Opponents of the idea think that a nuclear power plant is extremely dangerous and cite the Chernobyl power station as an example. However, it has to be understood that it was a breakdown of the USSR management system. There wasn't a nuclear but a technological explosive in Chernobyl. There were three explosions there, and all of them occurred due to technological failures.

There are most nuclear reactors in Europe. Every country of the EU has 20-30 nuclear reactors. Even the small towns of France have reactors. And there are no explosions and breakdowns because there is a scientifically justified and safe approach, which pays off quite well in terms of the development of the nuclear energy. There can be no jokes with nuclear processes.

- But then there is the issue of waste disposal?

- Many countries are not fulfilling their international obligations on nuclear security. According to international standards, a country developing a reactor is to supply it with raw materials and dispose of its wastes. Nuclear wastes are a very valuable product, even more valuable than the source product. In the current low-temperature reactors fuel combustion does not exceed 30-40 per cent, while the rest of the fuel is preserved. Uranium 238, which constitutes 90 per cent of this fuel, remains unused, because slower neutrons which do not interact with Uranium 238 are usually used in such reactors. Uranium 235 makes up 6 per cent of this fuel with 40 per cent combustion. If we develop a technology capable of using Uranium 238, then we would have nuclear reserves enough for 700-800 years, according to specialist calculations. And the technologies are known. A fast reactor which used to operate in Kazakhstan was for many years used both in electric energy production and in freshening seawater. It was also used in producing plutonium, which is a good source for another type of reactors and nuclear weapons.

In other words, the revenues generated by nuclear processes are not particularly high. Many countries possess processing technologies but conceal them. Valuable products are separated from wastes, while the remaining small quantities are buried. This, for example, was the case in France where the public wrongly thought that the authorities were dumping nuclear wastes into the sea. That would be incorrect. The French were building underwater storages and I think that this is a very wise approach. The nuclear reactor fuel element is stored under water in moist storage facilities for about one year. This is the safest way of storage. I think that in five to six years France will be processing these wastes for further use.

By advocating the development of nuclear energy in Azerbaijan, I mean reserves, security, profitability and solution of environmental problems. The point is that it is the extraction and processing of organic fuel cause green-house effect, global temperature rise and pollution of the environment. The reality is that about 80 per cent of the environment pollution is due to the energy sector based on organic feedstock.

This has to be changed. Quite soon the green mass of the planet will be unable to cope with the products of combustion and carbon dioxide emissions resulting from oil and gas production. By all the parameters there is energy capable of competing with nuclear. Do I want a nuclear power station to be set up in Azerbaijan? To be honest, I don't because this industry does not tolerate negligence. It can also be used for non-peaceful purposes. But there is no other option. Opponents have to visit Azerbaijan's districts and see how people live. If the country's needs for electric energy were fully met, people in the countryside wouldn't be without electricity. On a presidential decision, a number of module stations are being built in the country. However, all of them operate on the basis of natural gas, oil and heating oil. But what if Azerbaijan runs out of these in 20-25 years? What are these stations for then? What spend such resources on them?

Therefore, the idea of constructing a nuclear power station in Azerbaijan is worth considering now because Azerbaijan is a country without any experience in this sphere. It might be too late tomorrow.  It is already necessary to train personnel and the IAEA is ready to help us, while countries already possessing nuclear facilities can help us with personnel training.

- Have you made specific suggestions to the government yet?

- Yes, we have submitted a feasibility study. But this problem cannot be solved overnight. It requires major investment. One reactor costs about $4 billion. Just compare that one 1,000-MW power station consumes about 2.6 million tons of organic fuel a year. If we sell it by the market price, in five years the investment in the nuclear reactor will be completely recovered. In the meantime, this oil is also consumed by turbines used at our heat power plants. Their efficiency is low now. The government certainly realizes that, but the development of the nuclear industry is a capital-intensive process. And I think it will start in the coming years. For that we need to have a research nuclear reactor.